In the midst of campaigning for reelection, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa last week offered a shocking policy proposal: He said he will invite foreign troops to the country to combat criminal gangs. Noboa did not provide key details, including which countries he would be inviting, only indicating that the foreign forces would have a limited mandate but be operational and working alongside Ecuador’s military and police to take down criminal groups.
The second round of Ecuador’s presidential election is scheduled for April 13. Noboa will face Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate of the left-wing political movement founded by former President Rafael Correa. In the first round earlier this month, the two candidates were nearly tied with 44 percent of the vote each and each candidate’s party took close to the same number of seats in the Congress, with neither reaching a majority.
Noboa, who began his shortened term in 2023 after surprise snap elections, faces a tough political environment that would challenge any incumbent president. Ecuador’s challenges include high crime, a weak economy, and regular electricity failures. However, Noboa is a talented young politician who understands how to control the political and media agenda and who has maintained a decently high level of popularity by understanding public opinion. His recent counterintuitive political gamble is a bet that Ecuador’s population will welcome a bold anti-crime proposal.